AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
I hate hospitals. The smell, the color, the sounds. The beeping of the monitor things beside me. Before I even open my eyes, I know where I am.
And my dad wanted me to go to medical school.
It’s dark outside, and not too bright in my room.
It’s the bright, freshly colored, green hair that catches my attention. She’s curled up in a chair beside me with a jacket over her like a blanket. Charity rests her head against her hand while she has what looks like the most uncomfortable sleep of her life.
And I don’t miss the black makeup smudges under her eyes. She’s been crying and now I need to know why. Where is Jadon?
“Charity?” Great. My hoarse voice could be mistaken for one of those people on TV possessed by demons.
Charity jerks her head up and eyes open wide. “Allie!” Charity rushes to my side, cautious of some tube things hooked up to my arm. “I was so scared.”
She covers my hand with both of hers. Hers are much warmer than mine.
“What happened?”
Charity closes her eyes and pulls her brows together. Her lower lip turns out in a pout, like she’s trying to stop from crying. “Which asshole do you want to start with? Vivian, Mark, or my brother? Which, by the way, I did not know he was in all of this.”
Charity opens her eyes, and I notice they’re red and puffy. “Charity?”
“Allie, you have to believe me. I didn’t know.”
“I know you didn’t. I wasn’t so sure, either, until he put a gun to my back.”
Her jaw drops and hangs wide open. “He held a gun to you?”
Nodding my head, a wave of pain hits, and I want to curl up and die. “He did, and then Vivian took it. She shot the sky and then pointed it at Jadon before Ted forced me in the car.”
“I’ll kill him,” she says. “Not my little nephew. Nobody—especially not Vivian Vandenbitch—threatens my little Jadon.” She swallows and leans in. “She’s here, actually.”
That instinctual hair on the back of my neck rises to attention. “She’s here?”
How is she free?
Charity rolls her eyes. “She’s chained to her bed. Broke a finger or something and claims she has a head injury. They’re keeping her overnight and then she’s going to jail.”
Good.
“Where’s Jadon? What about Lucas?”
Charity blows out a breath. “Well,Jadonis fine. He’s in the other room right now with your dad and Lucas.” She bites on her lip nervously before continuing. “Vivian hit your dad, Allie. He has a fractured knee and a broken hip.”
Oh my gosh.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. He just won’t be getting around as much for a while. Lucas is a different story, Allie.”
And now I feel sick listening to her voice drop like that.
“He hasn’t woken up yet. The bitch hit him hard, and before he hit the ground, Lucas hit the back window of the car you were standing next to. He was bleeding a lot when they got there. I heard them say they were lucky to get there when they did. Now we’re just waiting for him to wake up.”
My hand covers my mouth. “He’s in a coma?”
Charity nods. “Jadon is fine, and I’ve been checking on him. Lucas’s parents are in the room with him, so he’s not alone. They just got here an hour ago.”
